ABSTRACT Thirty-two coal (lignite-bituminous in rank) and carbonaceous shale samples, ranging from immature to overmature, were collected from the various coal-bearing basins (Saurashtra Basin, Bikaner Nagaur Basin, Damodar Basin, Mahanadi Basin, and Foreland Basin) in India and characterized petrographically (vitrinite reflectance and maceral composition), geochemically (total organic carbon and total sulfur) and chemically (Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, FTIR). This paper explores utilization of FTIR study on bulk non-demineralized carbonaceous shale and coal to examine the interference between mineral and organic matter visible on FTIR spectra and application of such techniques to assess organic matter chemistry based on FTIR signal. Mineral matter is considerably affecting the organic matter FTIR signal in the region between 1700–1350 and 900–700 cm−1, while the 3100–2800 cm−1 region is unaffected. The general trends of organic matter evolution with thermal maturity, i.e. a decrease of aliphatic and oxygen-bearing groups and increase in aromatic signal, are visible in bulk non-demineralized samples; however, the interpretation of the signal is problematic due to the dilution-related signal weakening and region-specific overlapping. The quality of the FTIR signal is lower than the signal from demineralized kerogens or targeted specific maceral grains via combination of FTIR with microscopy. The spectra can still be useful for more qualitative aspects of FTIR, like assessment of organic functional groups, study of coal impurities, or as a complementary method in conjunction with other analytical techniques such as X-ray for mineral matter characterization.

The Rician distribution, a well-known statistical distribution frequently encountered in fields like magnetic resonance imaging and wireless communications, is particularly useful for describing many real phenomena such as signal process data. In this paper, we introduce objective Bayesian inference for the Rician distribution parameters, specifically the Jeffreys rule and Jeffreys prior are derived. We proved that the obtained posterior for the first priors led to an improper posterior while the Jeffreys prior led to a proper distribution. To evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed Bayesian estimation method, we perform extensive numerical simulations and compare the results with those obtained from traditional moment-based and maximum likelihood estimators. Our simulations illustrate that the Bayesian estimators derived from the Jeffreys prior provide nearly unbiased estimates, showcasing the advantages of our approach over classical techniques. Additionally, our framework incorporates the S.A.F.E. principles – Sustainable, Accurate, Fair, and Explainable – ensuring robustness, fairness, and transparency in predictive modelling.

Background: Colonic emergencies remain a major lifethreatening condition associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Unlike elective colorectal surgical procedures, a large portion of emergency colorectal surgical procedures are performed by noncolorectal surgeons (NCRS). The impact of specialization on the outcome of emergency colorectal surgery has not yet been well described. We aimed to evaluate the impact of surgeon specialization on the outcomes of emergency colorectal surgeries. Materials and Methods: A Retrospective cohort study conducted in a tertiary care center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between July 2008 to July 2020. Patients underwent emergency colorectal surgeries and met study inclusion criteria were identified and grouped according to the specialty of the primary surgeon: colorectal surgeons [CRS] or NCRS. Relevant study data was obtained from patient medical files. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to assess the association between the surgeons’ specialty and outcomes. Results: Of 219 included patients, there were 126 men [57.5%] and 93 women [42.4%]. Of all population 128 patients [58%] were operated on by CRS while 91 patients [42%] were operated on by NCRS. Most common procedure performed by CRS was left hemicolectomy [n=45, 67.2%] while the most common procedure performed by NCRS was right hemicolectomy [n=26, 51%]. The most common reason for surgery was malignant pathologies [n=129, 58.9%]. Patients who had their surgeries performed by a CRS had a significant decrease in 30-day mortality [odds ratio [OR] 0.23, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.065–0.834]. Reoperation also decreased in this group [OR 0.413, 95% CI 0.179–0.956]. Moreover, both hospital length of stay and ICU length of stay decreased CRS compared with the NCRS [OR 0.636, 95% CI 0.465–0.869, and OR 0.385, 95% CI 0.235–0.63, respectively]. Conclusion: Specialization in colorectal surgery has a significant influence on morbidity and mortality after emergency operations. These findings may in improving emergency services and support remodeling the referral system in the institutions.

An analysis of the characteristics of automotive mass air flow sensors is made. A test system has been developed to study the sensors. The measurement data is processed with MATLAB using curve fitting.

Objective. To study the features of staged interventions in patients with combined lesions of coronary arteries and arteries of the lower extremities. Materials and Methods. The results of surgical treatment of 26 patients with combined lesions of coronary arteries and lower extremity arteries for the period from 2016 to 2023, the first stage of which was myocardial revascularization, were analyzed, and the data of 22 patients who underwent revascularization of the lower extremity arteries before 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. The operations were performed without cardiopulmonary bypass. Venous and arterial graphs were used. Results. The postoperative period was uneventful in 35 (73%) patients. Perioperative complications were assessed according to the presence of major adverse cardiovascular events. Among the complications in the intra­ and postoperative period, myocardial infarction was observed in 5 (23%) patients who underwent revascularization of the lower extremity arteries (p < 0.001), which was accompanied by longer mechanical ventilation and higher doses of vasopressor and inotropic support in the intensive care unit. Problems associated with increased lower extremity ischemia were noted in 5 (19%) patients who underwent myocardial revascularization as the first step (p < 0.005). Conclusions. In the case of combined lesions of the coronary arteries and arteries of the lower extremities, coronary artery bypass grafting should always be performed first. If coronary pathology is not corrected, the risk of perioperative myocardial infarction, fatal arrhythmia, and death increases.

The fifth burmaeshnid dragonfly, Neoaeschna kachinensis gen. et sp. nov., is described based on the basal parts of a pair of fore- and hindwings from Kachin amber, indicating that Burmaeshnidae Huang, Cai, Nel & Bechly, 2017 is the most diverse family of true dragonflies in Kachin amber. The new dragonfly differs from the other genera in having one row of cells present in the postdiscoidal area basal of the midfork, the trigonal planate being obsolete, and one or two crossveins present basal of the CuP-crossing in the submedian space.

Non-standard gear transmissions are increasingly finding their applications in practice, primarily being designed for various applications. While standard circular gears are designed for a constant gear ratio, non-standard gears have a variable gear ratio that changes. This paper addresses the issue of designing non-circular gears for a specific range of gear ratios. An elliptical shape for the gears was chosen. The uniqueness of the proposed solution lies in selecting an ellipse as the evolute for creating the involute curve of the gear tooth.

The article deals with the issue of verification of selected geometric characteristics of a special robot intended for the nuclear industry. The design of the robot is specific in that the robot works in both semi-automatic and manual mode. This leads to frequent collisions of some parts of the robot with fragmented equipment. Therefore, it was necessary to ensure the accuracy and repeatability of the robot after its production and during its operation. Verification of the parameters of the robot after one year of operation was carried out in the controlled zone of the nuclear power plant, which was specific due to the presence of ionizing radiation. The methodology, technique and method of verification had to be adapted to this.